The present invention relates to a method of polishing end surfaces of rod-shaped members, which is suitable for polishing the respective end surfaces of a plurality of rod-shaped members at the same time.
For example, in the case where end surfaces of rod-shaped members such as ferrules with optical fibers are required to be finished into a desired shape by polishing the end surfaces, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 5, a large number of ferrules 102 with optical fibers are fixed to a periphery 101 of a regular polygonal holder 100 by suitable means while leaving a space between the ferrules, and a relative trochoid curvilinear motion is caused in the state that the respective tip ends of the ferrules 102 with optical fibers are pressed against a polishing disc 103 disposed opposite the holder 100, whereby the respective tip ends of the ferrules 102 with optical fibers are polished.
However, according to the conventional method as shown in FIG. 5, although end surfaces of a large number of rod-shaped members can be polished at the same time, as shown in FIG. 6, only a specific portion near an outer circumference (indicated by oblique lines) of the polishing disc 103 is used, so that a large part of a polishing sheet is not used, thus the conventional method has a problem that an economical use of the polishing sheet can not be attained.
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a method of polishing end surfaces of rod-shaped members in which the entire surface of a polishing sheet is uniformly used so that a lifetime of the polishing sheet can be elongated and running costs can be lowered.